I flew up to Seattle last week for the singular objective of getting a new tattoo from the amazing Derek Noble. This would be my second piece from him, as he did my unicorn and rider on my left thigh about 2 years ago. This time, the husband would also be getting something. It's his first tattoo with any color and it's most certainly his best tattoo yet.
We flew up very early on Thursday morning. Despite being exhausted from little sleep the night before, we grabbed lunch and beers at a place called Stout on our way to our Airbnb in Capitol Hill. I used Airbnb for the entire stay in Japan this past summer and was so pleased with the experience I decided to give it another try. I'll admit I haven't been as wowed by Airbnb hosts in the U.S. but it was comfortable, in a good location, and very inexpensive compared to many other hotels in the Seattle area.
We spent the rest of Thursday evening in Pike Place, where we went to Pike Place Brewing, and then on to How to Cook a Wolf for dinner. We never eat at upscale places while at home so it was a nice change. Vacation is for splurging, right? Then it was back to the house for an early night since Friday was my tattoo appointment.
Derek Noble's artwork is more....metal and satanic looking. My right side of my body is unofficially my "Japanese side" for all my tattoos. I have my yokai, my Amaterasu & Okami wolf, on my upper back is my kokeshi doll and cranes in memorial for my mom, and my first tattoo on my right thigh is my octopus. So lots of Japanese-themed pieces going on there. The flow is also supposed to be the heavens or celestial beings towards the top of my body and my deep ocean or underworld related pieces going down. I had space towards the bottom of thigh, above my knee, so I decided on a severed female head wearing a samurai helmet.
I never saw a sketch of the design until I walked in that day for my actual appointment. It was bigger than I pictured and we had to wrap it around the back of my knee (NERVOUS) but it was really neat and I love how well he fit it into the rest of my work.
Now for the fun part that we all know, hate, and bear.
The side of my knee was rather unpleasant but those were small bits. The real hell came when it was time for color on the backside of my knee. The whole tattoo took about 4~ hours and we stopped for one quick break when he was pulling colors. The last 30 minutes was color on the back and while normally I am in pretty good control of the pain, I had reached my limit and was making "owie" faces galore.
Then...poof! We were done
I was wrapped up, hobbling out, and my husband and I decided it was time for dinner. We went to Ivar's Fish House on the water and had some good fish and chips and chowder.
I get VERY swollen on my legs after a tattoo so this was me attempting to model my "sausageyness"
Then we went out to the Unicorn Bar, a spot right by the shop that I wanted to visit last time but was unable to because my last tattoo appointment up in Seattle was a full 8 hours.
The bar is all carnival themed, they serve carnival foods, and used to have an arcade in the bottom floor. I just really liked the look of the place.
Their drink menu is pretty ridiculous (and reminded me of @thekarmaguy guy) but I pretty much stick to beer nowadays.
We also tried Optimism brewing in Capitol Hill and it was amazing! the inside was great, they allowed dogs, had tons of games, and I enjoyed the fact that none of their beers were labeled by type. It meant that you needed to really read the beer and be familiar with tastes.
Saturday was my husband's turn under the needle. His tattoo took a little bit longer than mine but the end result was fantastic!
I'm a little jealous that the artist took a photo of his but not mine. However, this piece is more in the style he tattoos and I mean, it is a great tattoo.
Back to dinner at Pike Place Brewing on Saturday night and then Cloudburst brewing following that.
Sunday was our departure day but I intentionally got a late flight out so we could mess around during the afternoon. We headed up to Ballard, which is a working suburb of Seattle that is known for its Scandinavian heritage. We found a little Scandinavian cafe and I had my first smorgasbord in preparation for our eventual trip to Northern Europe next summer. We also managed to fit in another two breweries, Old Stove and Elysian, before almost missing our flight and heading home.
I demanded ice cream on the last day so we found Molly Moon's, where I got earl grey tea and honey lavender ice cream, and happily ate it with my jasmine IPA from Elysian
Poutine and beer, it filled us up so much we had a hard time leaving the bar and therefore were rushing to catch our flight.
Tattoo is about a week healed and sadly, my phone camera does not do it justice.
Seattle is a strange, unique, and interesting city. It's inhabitants come from all walks of live. There are a billion places to eat and drink well. I think our next tattoo adventures will take us to another city but we will definitely return to Seattle again sometime.
No rest for the wicked, once I got home, I worked 9 shifts in 6 days, with 3 13-hour days working both jobs. It's finally caught up to me and today I am sick and feeling like garbage. Tomorrow is a double day of work but Tuesday is my beacon, where I get to sleep in and will probably be curled in bed watching t.v. with the dog.
Thanks for checking out my trip photos!
